One sunny day in June on the tarmac in Luxembourg, a 40-year industry veteran—with a little bit of help from his Panalpina colleagues, his friends at Luxair and airport authorities—staged a once-in-a-lifetime event where his personal and professional passions could collide in a magical moment worthy of a photo op of a lifetime.

Will the flow of information become more important than the flow of goods? Fact is, new modes of transport are not where the frontier of transportation lies. Digital transformation is. This blog post in two parts looks at five major trends that are shaping the freight forwarding and logistics industry – all of them linked to digital transformation.

Huntsville International Airport. 7:38 PM. The rotor blades of a Robinson R44 spin into action, slicing the air in the dusk, as pilot Brian Coshatt is given clearance for take-off. On board: an urgent shipment for a car factory.